"In late 2005, European researchers did telephone surveys in five European countries (Denmark, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Poland) and three Asian regions, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Guangdong, China)," CIDRAP reported. "They chose the Asian locales specifically because they had experienced outbreaks of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in 2003, which may have influenced the citizens' perception of what might be high-risk activities during a pandemic."

The findings showed that of those who responded, 79% of Europeans would "likely avoid places of entertainment such as cinemas, restaurants, and theaters, while only 33% of Asians said they would." Additionally, 79% and 74% of Europeans and Asians, respectively, said they would avoid public transportation while limiting shopping ranked 69% and 59%; and those who would stay home from work numbered 35% and 52%.

In other areas, 59% and 39% said they would keep their kids at home while 45% and 52% would limit their encounters with family and friends. The researchers who conducted the survey held two caveats - that there was a difficulty in verifying the results, and that there was no way to know if the respondents would actually act the way they stated.